(in)justice

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Top 10 Videos of 2011: 7. “Matt Damon Defends Teachers”

January 4, 2012 | 1 comment

7Lesson #1 for agenda-driven interviewers: don’t fuck with Matt Damon. If you do, it’ll probably end up on YouTube. Case in point: Damon took time out from making a film to fly to Washington D.C. and give a speech at the Save Our Schools March on July 30, 2011. He was introduced by his mother Nancy Carlsson-Paige, a professor of early childhood education. Among the media covering the event was a libertarian outlet called Reason.tv, whose reporter and cameraman made the ill-advised choice to (you guessed it) fuck with Matt Damon. The result:

That, my friends, is what they call getting pwned. Read the rest of this entry »


Websites Suck at Evaluating This Website

July 28, 2011 | 1 comment

A few longtime readers may recall the time I had this blog’s reading level gauged by a web-based tool. The less-than-flattering result was “Junior High School level.” Less than a year later, that particular website evaluator no longer existed.

graded-paperDespite that experience, I seem to have retained a masochistic urge to be graded. Spurred on by the example of MaryAnn (a.k.a. The Flick Filosopher — see my blogroll), I rashly submitted this blog to the scrutiny of Hubspot’s Website Grader. Following her lead, I focused on Section I, letter E of the report:

high-school

Hey — that means I graduated up a level in only three years! Although… oh yeah, junior high school is only three years. Read the rest of this entry »


Weiner Doesn’t Have a “Problem,” He Has a Computer

June 16, 2011 | Comment

Sex advice sage and blogroll mainstay Dan Savage devoted the first ten minutes of his latest podcast episode to a passionate and astute rant about the Anthony Weiner kerfuffle. I should clarify that Dan’s commentary was recorded and released two days ago, on June 14; in it he refers specifically to Weiner’s confessional press conference, which had taken place a week earlier. Weiner’s resignation from congress didn’t occur until this morning, but it doesn’t make Dan’s argument any less relevant.

dan-savage

Dan Savage (photo: Flickr/mattoly)

Of course, the full effect is only available by hearing Dan speak his words. Nevertheless, here are some highlights for the benefit of those unable to listen (or who simply prefer to read):

My favorite question [at the press conference] was this: “Why would you do this after you were married?” Because Lord knows, nobody goes online and flirts — or masturbates, looks at [or] downloads porn, or creates through the interactive-ness of the web their own porn moments — no married person does that. The worldwide web is just this big jack-off-a-thon for single people.

Read the rest of this entry »


Top Ten Videos of 2009: 6. Funny or Die, “A Gaythering Storm”

December 17, 2009 | Permalink

In the early part of 2009, American TV airwaves were polluted by a particular commercial that became known as the “Gathering Storm” ad. Made by a group calling itself the National Organization for Marriage, it was a clumsy, mendacious message of anti-gay fear-mongering. I don’t care to put the original ad here on my own blog, so if you haven’t seen or don’t immediately recall it you can fill yourself in by clicking this link.

The ad could have been a milestone of unintentional comedy were it not for the fact that so many Americans actually buy its central falsehood that same-sex marriage could impose anything whatsoever onto heterosexual marriages and families. Needless to say, the ad’s overblown, portentous bigotry practically begged to be parodied. I made calls to a few filmmaker friends with a mind toward producing one myself, but to do it right ended up being logistically impossible.

Fortunately, the popular comedy site Funny or Die soon rolled out their version, which more than filled the comedic void. Entitled “A Gaythering Storm,” it comes in at number six on my list of the top ten videos of 2009. Read the rest of this entry »


Iran: Real Winners Don’t Blame

June 18, 2009 | Permalink

Day six of Iran’s post-election uprising, and all we can do is watch. Or at least, all we will — and indeed should do is watch.  Not until Tuesday, four days after the Ahmadinejad government released its incredible tally pronouncing its own reelection by a 63-34 margin, did President Obama comment on the situation. And very measured comments they were, with an emphasis on honoring the will of Iranian voters rather than condemning the ruling faction.

Even these mild pronouncements were immediately seized upon by the beleaguered Iranian incumbents, accusing the U.S. of fomenting the massive unrest they now face.
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